Method for providing and using an installation for the electroslag remelting of metallic consumable electrodes

ABSTRACT

Method for the electroslag remelting of metallic consumable electrodes by providing and operating an electroslag remelting apparatus comprising a bottom plate, a discrete slag inlet means disposed on said bottom plate and a hollow mold disposed on the latter, said slag inlet means establishing fluid-flow communication between said mold and an access port outside of said mold into which slag may be poured. A removable slag inlet conduit is provided in fluid-flow communication with the slag inlet in said slag inlet means.

United States Patent 1191 Latas'h et al.

[ METHOD FOR PROVIDING AND USING AN INSTALLATION FOR THE ELECTROSLAG REMELTING OF METALLIC CONSUMABLE ELECTRODES [75] Inventors: Jury Vadimovich Latash; Boris Izrailevich Medovan, both of Kiev; Semen Abramovich Leibenzow; Gary Petrovich, both of Zaporozhie,

all of USSR.

[73] Assignee: Patent Management Inc.,

Washington, DC.

[22] Filed: July 16, 1971 [2]] Appl. No.: 163,483

Related US. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 669,608, S ept. 21, 1967,

abandoned. I

164/137 51 1m.c1 ..:..B22d 27/02 581 Field 6: Search 164/52, 137, 252; 249/109; I 29/426, 428

1111 1 3,823,759 1451 July 16, 1974 [56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 3,152,372 10/1964 Hopkins 164/52 3,501,125 3/1970 Fransson 249/109 X- FOREIGNPATENTS OR APPLlCATlONS 689,297 4/1967 Belgium 164/252 1,499,729 9/1967 France 164/252 Primary ExaminerRobert D. Baldwin Attorney, Agent, or FirmStrauch, Nolan, Neale, Nies & Kurz [57] ABSTRACT Method for the electroslag remelting of metallic consumable electrodes by providing and operating an electroslag remelting apparatus comprising a bottom plate, a discrete slag inlet means disposed on said bottom plate and a hollow mold disposed on the latter, said slag inlet means establishing fluid-flow communication between saidmold and an access port outside of said mold into which slag may be poured. A removable slag inlet conduit is provided in fluid-flow communication with the slag inlet in said slag inlet means.

12 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTEI] JUL 1 5 1 METHOD FOR PROVIDING AND USING AN INSTALLATION FOR THE ELECTROSLAG REMELTING OF METALLIC CONSUMABLE ELECTRODES CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a division of our copending application Ser. No. 669,608, filed on Sept. 21, 1967 for IN- STALLATION FOR THE ELECTROSLAG RE- MELTING OF METALLIC CONSUMABLE ELEC- TRODES, now abandoned.

The present invention relates to installations for the electroslag remelting of metallic consumable electrodes, and more particularly to installations, in which the casting of slag into a mold is carried out through a bottom pour arrangement.

An earlier filed co-pending United States application Ser. No. 592,054, filed Nov. 4, 1966, now abandoned,

- having common ownership with the present application is directed to installations provided with a duct arrangement for bottom pouring of slag into the mold, and its disclosure is incorporatedherein by reference thereto.

Application Ser. No. 68,637 was filed Sept. 1, 1970 as a continuation-in-part of and includes all of the disclosure of the afore-referenced application Ser. No. 592,054, has common ownership with the present application and'is now US. Pat. No. 3,670,089.

In the existing installations, the channel for feeding slag from the duct arrangement into the mold is made in thebottom plate or mold, or partially in both of them.

These installations allow the slag to be poured into the mold easily and efficiently.

In these cases, however, bottom plates or molds of the special design must be employed, i.e., those having a slag-feeding channel, which eventually complicates and makes more expensive the construction of the installation, and also decreases the service life of both the bottom plate and mold.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-said disadvantages.

The principal objectof the invention is to provide an installation for the electroslag remelting, provided with a duct arrangement for pouring slag, the bottom plate and mold of which installation will not require the above-mentioned construction modifications.

The present invention features an installation for the electroslag remelting of metallic consumable electrodes, comprising a mold with a bot-tom plate and a duct arrangement for pouring slaginto the mold. In conformity with the invention, disposed between the mold and bottom plate a discrete slag inlet having in its central portion an opening and a lateral channel entering this opening, which channel communicates with said duct arrangement.

It is expedient that the portion of the inlet with the lateral channel extend beyond the mold in order to place the duct arrangement directly on the plate.

To decrease the bottom croppage in the subsequent treatment of an ingot being remelted and to facilitate the cleaning of the lateral channel from solidified slag, it is desirable to make the walls of the opening and those of the inlet lateral channel cone-shaped with increasing diameter in the direction of the mold.

It is preferred that the opening provided in the central portion of the inlet be shaped similarly to the internal cross section of the mold.

The inlet may be manufactured of a refractory material, for example, graphite. Yet, most expedient is the use of a metalinlet, e.g., steel or copper, provided with channelsfor a cooling agent. On remelting an ingot, the mold must be removed from the inlet. For this reason, it is expedient to have provided on the inlet centering projections so as to accurately adjust the mold thereafter.

The advantage of the invention mainly consists in that it allows the existing installations for electroslag remelting to be easily adjusted, at little expense, for the operation with bottom pouring of slag.

The nature of the present invention will become more fully apparent from a consideration of the following description of an exemplary embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a part of the installation of the invention, shown in a longitudinal cross section; and

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the installation with the mold removed.

The installation for the electroslag remelting comprises a bottomplate 1 (FIGS. 1 and 2) having disposed thereon an inlet 2 mounting a cooled mold 3 whereon an ingot to be remelted is forming.

The inlet 2 has in its central portion an opening 4 with a lateral channel 3 entering therein, which channel 5 communicates with a channel 6 of a duct arrangement 7, provided with a receiving funnel 8 and intended for pouring slag into the mold 3.

The walls of the opening 4 and lateral channel 5 of the plate 2 slope upwards in widening fashion in the direction of the mold 3. This is aimed at ensuring the conical shape of the bottom portion of the ingot being remelted and thus at reducing the bottom croppage in the subsequent treatment of the ingot, while also facilitating the removal of the ingot from the bottom plate 1 and the cleaning of the inlet 2 from the slag.

The opening 4 of the inlet 2 is shaped so as to correspond to the internal cross section of the mold 3.

' The height of the inlet 2 and the width of the lateral channel 5 when it is overlapped by the mold 3 and bot-.

tom plate 1 ensure the obtaining of a space sufficient for the slag passage. l

It is expedient to select the length of the channel 5 in the inlet 2 in such a manner that its end will pass outside the limits of the mold 3. In this case, the duct arrangement 7 is placed directly on the inlet 2, adjoining with its base 9 the flange 10 of the mold 3.

When using a metal inlet 2, channels 11 are provided therein for supplying a cooling agent, for instance, water.

Centering projections 12 are provided on the inlet 2 so as to ensure the correct adjustment of the mold 3 in relation to the inlet 2 after each melt.

Conventional elements used in electroslag remelting furnaces such as electrodes, means for their supply, including gear mechanism for feeding the electrodes, and the like are not described in detail except to restate from the electroslag art that the electrodes are disposed within their mold without contacting the sidewalls thereof and that the electrodes are electrically energized to provide remelting energy thereto. An electrode l3 and gear 14 for feeding the electrode are 3 shown schematically in FIG. 1, and those components as well as other electroslag remelting installation componentscan be seen and are descibed in more detail in I the aforedescribed co-pending application Ser. No.

592,054, now abandoned.

The installation operates as follows.

The mold 3 is placed upon the inlet 2 laid on the bottom plate 1. Provided on the portion of the inlet 2 extending from under the mold 3 is the arrangement 7 in such a manner that its base 9 will adjoin the flange 10 of the mold 3 while the lower exit end of the channel 6 of this arrangement will coincide with the initial portion of the channel in the inlet 2.

Owing to overlapping of the channel 5 by the bottom plate l,the flange of the mold 3 and the base 9 of the duct arrangement 7, a space is formed in the inlet 2 connecting the internal space of the mold 3 with the duct arrangement 7. t Thereafter a required amount of slag is poured into the receiving funnel 8, the slag having been premelted in a separate furnace. As the level of slag in the mold 3 approaches a consumable electrode 13, the process of remelting thiselectrode begins. Gear mechanism 14 is used to lowerthe electrode to its proper position in' the mold prior to starting the installation and is used to feed the electrode relative to the mold during the remelting process.

After building up and solidification of a certain portion of the ingot, the'duct arrangement 7 may beremoved from the inlet 2 for effecting the preparation of the subsequent melt.

On completing the melt, the electrical remelting power to the electrodes is interrupted or discontinued,

the mold 3 is raised, the ingot (which is not shown in the drawing) is removed from the bottom plate 1, and the internal surfaces of the walls of the inlet 2 are cleaned from the slag. f

The invention enables the bottom pouring of slag in existing installations without having recourse to any reconstruction thereof.

The present invention is not limited by the exemplary embodiment thus described, and there may be conceived modifications thereof which do not depart from .the concept and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A method of modifying an existing electrode type remelting installation,- which includes a hollow mold and a plate arranged at the bottom of the mold and wherein the ingot, during formation is supported at least in part by the plate, into a bottom-pour electroslag remelting installation wherein the ingot being formed will directly engage at least in part the plate comprising: removing the hollow mold from the plate; interposing a discrete slag inlet means having a vertical passage therethrough to permit an ingot being formed to at least in part engage said plate, between said plate and said mold by disposing said slag inlet means on said plate and disposing said hollow mold on said slag inlet means; and providing, via said slag inlet means, fluidflow communication between the hollow of said mold and an access port outside said mold into which molten slag may be poured.

2. The method of claim 1, including the step of positioning the hollow mold with respect to the discrete slag inlet means.

3. The method of claim 1, including the step of supplying a cooling agent-to the remelting installation.

4. A method of modifying and operating an existing electrode type remelting installation, which includes a hollow mold disposed on a mold bottom plate, comprising the steps of: removing the hollow mold from the mold bottom plate; interposing a discrete slag inlet means having a vertical through passage and an access port laterally spaced from the mold between the bottom plate and the hollow mold so the vertical through passage provides communication between the interior of the mold and the upper portion of the plate; providing, via a channel including the discrete slag inlet means, fluid-flow communication between the hollow of the mold and the access port; pouring a predetermined amount of molten slag into the access port for entry into the hollow of the mold with the electrode in melting position within the mold; supplying electric power to the electrode to melt the-electrode metal in the molten slag within the mold; forming the melted electrode metal into an ingot directly engaging the plate; interrupting the supply of electric power; removing the hollowmold from the formed ingot; and removing the ingot from the bottom plate and the discrete slag inlet means.

5. The methodof claim 4, including the step of premelting the predetermined amount'of slag in a separate furnace.

6. The method of claim 4, including the step of positioning the hollow mold with respect to the discrete slag inlet means.

7. The; method of claim 4, including the step of supplying cooling agent to the hollow mold, the bottom plate, and the discrete slag inlet means.

8. The method of claim 4, including the step of removing the access port after formation of a portion of the ingot.

9. The method of claim 4, including the step of removing the discrete slag inlet means after formationof the ingot.

10. A method of modifying an existing electrode type remelting installation, which includes a hollow mold disposed on a mold bottom plate, into a bottom pour electroslag remelting installation comprising the steps of: removing the hollow mold from the mold bottom plate; interposing a discrete slag inlet means, having a central vertical through opening, between the bottom plate and the mold so that the upper surface of the plate is in communication through the discrete slag inlet means with the interior of the hollow mold; and providing, via a channel including the discrete slag inlet means, fluid-flow communication between the hollow of the mold and an access port positioned outside the mold and into which molten slag can be poured.

11. The method of claim 10, including the step of positioning the hollow mold with respect to the discrete slag inlet means during said interposing step.

12. The method of claim 10, including the step of supplying a cooling agent to the remelting installation.

UNITED STATES PATENTQ OFFICE q CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3, 823,759 r Dated July 16, 1974 Inventofls) Jury Vadimovich Latash et al It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 1, line 56, insert --isafter "plate".

Column 2; line 35, change "plate" to -inlet-.

Column 3; line 9, insert -duct before "arrangement". Correct last name of second inventor to -ME1 )OVAR Correct last name of third inventor to --LEIBENZO1 I--.

Add last name of fourth inventor --'KAGANOVSKY--.

Signed and sealed this 29th day of. October 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

MCCOY M. GIBSON JR. Y C; MARSHALL DANN Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents FORM PO-IOSO (10-69) v USCOMM DC ooenbpoo UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTIQN Patent No. 3, 823,759 Dated July 16, 1974 Inventofls) Jury Vadimovich Latash et al It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 1, line-56, insert --isafter "plate".

Column 2; line 35, change "plate" to ---inlet-- Column 3, line 9, insert '-ductbefore "arrangement". Correct last name of second inventor to l IE1 )OVA Correct last name of third inventor to LEIBENZOI \T Add last name of fourth inventor --KAGANOVSKY.

Signed and sealed this 29th day of. October 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

McCOY M. GIBSON JR. c; MARSHALL DANN Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents FORM PO-1D50(10-69) USCOMM DC Goa-Imp? 

1. A method of modifying an existing electrode type remelting installation, which includes a hollow mold and a plate arranged at the bottom of the mold and wherein the ingot, during formation is supported at least in part by the plate, into a bottom-pour electroslag remelting installation wherein the ingot being formed will directly engage at least in part the plate comprising: removing the hollow mold from the plate; interposing a discrete slag inlet means having a vertical passage therethrough to permit an ingot being formed to at least in part engage said plate, between said plate and said mold by disposing said slag inlet means on said plate and disposing said hollow mold on said slag inlet means; and providing, via said slag inlet means, fluid-flow communication between the hollow of said mold and an access port outside said mold into which molten slag may be poured.
 2. The method of claim 1, including the step of positioning the hollow mold with respect to the discrete slag inlet means.
 3. The method of claim 1, including the step of supplying a cooling agent to the remelting installation.
 4. A method of modifying and operating an existing electrode type remelting installation, which includes a hollow mold disposed on a mold bottom plate, comprising the steps of: removing the hollow mold from the mold bottom plate; interposing a discrete slag inlet means having a vertical through passage and an access port laterally spaced from the mold between the bottom plate and the hollow mold so the vertical through passage provides communication between the interior of the mold and the upper portion of the plate; providing, via a channel including the discrete slag inlet means, fluid-flow communication between the hollow of the mold and the access port; pouring a predetermined amount of molten slag into the access port for entry into the hollow of the mold with the electrode in melting position within the mold; supplying electric power to the electrode to melt the electrode metal in the molten slag within the mold; forming the melted electrode metal into an ingot directly engaging the plate; interrupting the supply of electric power; removing tHe hollow mold from the formed ingot; and removing the ingot from the bottom plate and the discrete slag inlet means.
 5. The method of claim 4, including the step of premelting the predetermined amount of slag in a separate furnace.
 6. The method of claim 4, including the step of positioning the hollow mold with respect to the discrete slag inlet means.
 7. The method of claim 4, including the step of supplying cooling agent to the hollow mold, the bottom plate, and the discrete slag inlet means.
 8. The method of claim 4, including the step of removing the access port after formation of a portion of the ingot.
 9. The method of claim 4, including the step of removing the discrete slag inlet means after formation of the ingot.
 10. A method of modifying an existing electrode type remelting installation, which includes a hollow mold disposed on a mold bottom plate, into a bottom pour electroslag remelting installation comprising the steps of: removing the hollow mold from the mold bottom plate; interposing a discrete slag inlet means, having a central vertical through opening, between the bottom plate and the mold so that the upper surface of the plate is in communication through the discrete slag inlet means with the interior of the hollow mold; and providing, via a channel including the discrete slag inlet means, fluid-flow communication between the hollow of the mold and an access port positioned outside the mold and into which molten slag can be poured.
 11. The method of claim 10, including the step of positioning the hollow mold with respect to the discrete slag inlet means during said interposing step.
 12. The method of claim 10, including the step of supplying a cooling agent to the remelting installation. 